the money lead. you know those ads on the side of your screen when you're on your computer to tell you how to refinance your mortgage or lose weight or buy those great pair of lululemon yoga pants? maybe that is just me. have you ever thought these ads just don't get the real you that you're too sophisticated and complicated for some data mining firm to figure out? you might be a little vain but also you might be right. the group enliken put out a survey to give consumers a real sense of how data mining companies view them and respondents found up to half of it is wrong. i now know the pain personally and tomorrow will share my weird, online traits with you on the show. i filled out your -- the money lead. hard to know who to root for here. the banks that gambled on all the toxic home mortgages or one of the government backed outfits

that insured them. freddie mac is suing more than a dozen of the world's biggest banks accusing them of manipulating the interest rate that banks charge each other to borrow money. freddie mac claims that resulted in losses that could reach into the hundreds of billions of dollars. since you brought this, you may also like a match box camera, an umbrella gun, or a drone. amazon.com is reportedly getting in the spy business. the trade site federal computer week says amazon is helping the cia build a secure cloud computer network. amazon and obviously the cia are not saying anything but the deal is said to be worth $600 million over ten years. a tough break for the animal rights activists of people for the ethical treatment of animals, potential confusion about whom to throw paint on. it turns out some of the fake fur on the market is not fake at all. neiman marcus and two other retailers settled a federal case by admitting they sold real fur to customers who thought it was fake. why? the "new york times" says the demand is actually much higher for the fake stuff these days.

now it's time for the results of hash tag you're it. earlier we asked you to send us some nfl pro bowl team names. your best efforts. one tweet, the nfc helmet knockers versus the afc head cases. or the nfl pro bowl team should be team irrelevant versus team it really doesn't matter. that's it for me. on to wolf blitzer. jake, thanks very much. happening now, president obama in the middle east waiting for proof that syria has used chemical weapons. if he gets it, will he use military force? the beast breaks down. president obama's armored limo can with stand a chemical attack but apparently not. the wrong kind of fuel. and critics are calling for him to come back to earth. but the house budget chairman paul ryan pushes ahead with his plan to balance the nation's books with major spending cuts. he'll join us live this hour. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room.

. it may be president obama's first official visit to israel but all eyes right now are on syria. the president says he's trying to find out if the damascus regime has crossed a u.s. red line by using chemical weapons against syrians. >> we intend to investigate thoroughly exactly what happened. obviously, in syria right now you've got a war zone. you have information that's filtered out but we have to make sure that we know exactly what happened. we know that there are those in the syrian government who have expressed a willingness to use chemical weapons if necessary to

protect themselves. i am deeply skeptical of any claim that in fact it was the opposition that used chemical weapons. once we establi the facts, i have made clear that the use of chemical weapons is a game changer. >> strong words from the president. let's go straight to cnn's john king. he's on the scene traveling with the president in jerusalem. they're investigating but there is no firm evidence yet that the syrians have used chemical weapons. >> that was the fascinating exchange when the issue came up, wolf. you know well all the intelligence assets that are here. israel, the neighbor to the northeast is syria. they've been helping the united states. there are satellite images. there are drones flying over syria from israel and other places in the region. and there are different ways they can test if chemical weapons were used. sensors they put in the air to test. so there is no question there is an intelligence investigation under way. so the president made clear again that would be a game

changer but he said he is waiting for the facts. he didn't say what he would do, if there is conclusive evidence he wasn't clear. it would be a game changer but what next? white house officials say that is one reason they're going to be very, very careful, gather the facts, so they can talk about what the president would do if this works out is that a military thing? what else happens there? the president did not answer those questions but you can be sure his national security team will be debating the contingencies as they wait for that evidence. >> if there is hard, conclusive evidence that the syrians have either used these chemical weapons or transferred these chemical weapons let's say to hezbollah or some other groups, that would presumably result in u.s. military action. i assume that's the threat out there, john. >> well, that is the threat. but then think about what that means. the president has been very clear his national security team has been very clear they don't see any scenarios under which you would put u.s. boots on the ground. would there be some special operations to try to take out

additional chemical weapons? certainly the president would say he would want the regime held to justice after the fact. but what do you do in the short term? that is the big question. do you do more to help the opposition or is there a direct u.s. military role? if you take out -- it is very dangerous to take out a chemical weapons site. if you just bomb a chemical weapons site you can disperse the chemicals and do more harm than good. one of the reasons the u.s. has not talked at all about any military options is they range from bad to worse. it would be a tough dilemma for this president if he thought he had to take some form of military action in response. that is one reason his words were so cautious today. he did lay down that line if there is proof he said it would be a game changer. >> some strong words as far as iran is concerned as well. we'll get back to you soon. john king is on the scene in jerusalem. it's called the beast. it's heavily armored, bullet proof, and can even with stand a chemical attack. but president obama's massive limousine couldn't with stand the wrong kind of fuel. take a look at this. it broke down before he got to

israel and had to be towed to a repair shop. this is awkward. >> it is a bit awkward, wolf. the beast is a steel, aluminum titanium and ceramic feat of engineering. it reportedly has a fuel tank that won't explode. tires that roll. even if punctured. and its own air supply in the case of a biochemical attack just don't fill her up with regular unleaded. maybe so, but dysfunction still reared its head on president obama's trip to the middle east. it it wasn't congress causing problems but obama's ride. the heavily armored presidential limousine, known as the beast, was towed away in jerusalem before obama even landed in israel. an official said it malfunctioned wednesday morning when the driver filled up using regular gas instead of diesel. >> they're very, very meticulous about that sort of thing.

and i'm quite surprised and i can tell you they did not knowingly put in the wrong type of fuel. >> ralph basham is a former director of the secret service. it's not the first time this car has met its match. in dublin two years ago -- a steep driveway at the u.s. embassy proved too much for the low-riding beast. president obama wasn't in the car at the time but he reportedly watched from the identical one behind it as agents worked for 15 minutes to unwedge the first limo. the beast and its replicas weigh eight tons. while the secret service is tight lipped about the specifics of the car, it reportedly has several inches of armor -- bullet proof glass, doors and windows that seal shut in the event of a gas attack and special shocks to absorb blasts. it is said to be built on a medium grade truck chassis, the chevrolet kodiak, which runs on diesel fuel. you've had people come in here to your garage where they mixed

it up. >> sure. we've had them towed in like that. you have to drain the tank and you refill it and it is usually fine. >> reporter: dave "woody" woodall runs an exxon station blocks from the capitol and says the mixup is pretty common. i imagine they're pretty embarrassed. >> they are. nine times out of ten somebody else did it. that's always the story. you know? i didn't do this but my friend, you know, borrowed my car. and we hear that a lot. >> yeah. but that's probably not going to fly in this case. when you're talking about the presidential limo this kind of mistake is serious business and former secret service director basham says there will no doubt, wolf, be a full investigation. the secret service isn't saying a whole lot about this, though. just that one of their protective vehicles experienced mechanical problems and they say that is why they bring multiple vehicles on these kinds of trips as well as a mechanic. >> he is driving in another car right now, is that right? >> he will be in another suv. there's normally two suvs in the motorcade, as you know, sometimes more or, sorry, suvs, two limousines in the motorcade.

so this one since it is out of commission is being replaced as we understand it by an suv limousine. >> they've got vehicles. >> they've got many cars. >> we'll be back. thanks very much. there's important news just coming into "the situation room" from capitol hill. only moments ago the senate passed a bill to avoid a government shutdown next week. if the house goes along the new spending bill will keep the government running through the end of september. in a little bit by the way i'll be speaking live with the house budget committee chairman paul ryan. he joins us here in the hacking of e-mail sent to the former secretary of state hillary clinton. other reported targets include colin powell's facebook page and e-mails of the bush family. a shadowy figure is said to be behind the hacking. we're trying to figure out just what is going on, just who the guccifer as it is pronounced is. brian todd is walking into the situation room right now.

you've been looking into the story. what are you finding out? >> this is a very mysterious figure and he has the u.s.'s best investigators after him. we have confirmed as wolf mentioned this afternoon the secret service is investigating the hacks of e-mails sent to hillary clinton by a former aide. experts worry the perpetrator may start to target e-mails mrs. clinton, herself, and others will send. a hacker who is reported to have broken into correspondence involving former presidents apparently has found a new target. confidential memos to hillary clinton from a former aide have been hacked according to the website smoking gun. the secret service says it is investigating. smoking gun says it has been in touch with the hacker known as guccifer. the memo which they say was in the e-mail of a former aide had information on the september attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, and smoking gun owned by turner broadcasting the parent firm of cnn could not provide someone to go on camera

with us. sidney blumenthal who has not worked for the government for several years would not comment. cyber security expert michael sutton says this hacker has a diabolical method. >> he is not going after the individual that he ultimately wants to get to but, rather, the family and friends, the ones that are in communication with them, and of course if they're on the receiving end of the e-mail you have the e-mail. >> another expert said guccifer may be doing this to zero in on the politicians themselves. according to smoking gun there are also hacks of e-mails and pictures circulated among friends, relatives, and aides of former presidents george w. bush and his father. some of the e-mails reported reflect sensitive issues regarding the health of george h.w. bush. the secret service tells us it's investigating the bush hacks. but guccifer could make that a challenge. it looks like the hacker took pains to cover his tracks. instead of forwarding the hacked e-mails and attachments directly to journalists and others that would have looked like this he recreated them copying and pasting text into new e-mails.

this one posted by smoking gun shows that he put the text into a pink background with a casual font style that looks like a written note. experts say he did this to make it harder for investigators to find mededata that could be traced back to him. we couldn't get comment from hillary clinton or any representative of the bush family or from former secretary of state colin powell though he did confirm his facebook and e-mail accounts were hacked. >> often the demographics of an individual like this are male, young, highly intelligent, and the fact that they are getting recognition for their success continues to fuel them. >> based on its correspondence with him, smoking gun says guccifer subscribes to conspiracy theories and claims the government has investigated him for several years. wolf, we hope to learn more about him in the days ahead. >> we'll get more information as it becomes available. thanks very much. pretty scary stuff there as well. congress is giving up the fight

at least for now to ban guns like the one used in last december's school massacre in connecticut. we're going live to newtown, connecticut in just a moment. we'll find out the emotional, the angry reaction that's coming in. and on capitol hill today, democrats were calling on the budget committee chairman paul ryan to, quote, come back to earth. the former republican vice presidential nominee is standing by live to join us here in the situation room. has an equally , lesser-known counterpart. conquer them with the exhilarating is 250. get great values on your favorite lexus models during the command performance sales event. this is the pursuit of perfection. even in stupid loud places. to prove it, we set up our call center right here... [ chirp ] all good? [ chirp ] getty up. call me! seriously, this is really happening! [ cellphone rings ] hello?

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we do whatever it takes to make your business our business. od. helping the world keep promises. watching paint dry can actually be good fun-- bleh-- but you've got to be there to enjoy it. you're in the situation room. u.s. senator dianne feinstein made news on tuesday when she promised to keep fighting for a ban on semiautomatic weapons like the one used to massacre these children and teachers in newtown, connecticut even though democratic leaders say they can't get enough votes to pass it. >> this is very important to me. and i'm not going to lay down and play dead. i think the american people have

said in every single public poll that they support this kind of legislation. it's aimed to protect children, to protect schools, animald mal. it is aimed to dry up the supply of these over time. and it came out on a 10-8 vote of the judiciary committee. not to give me a vote on this would be a major betrayal of trust as i would see it. >> front page of today's "new york daily news" calls it a shame. the assault weapons ban is effectively dead at least for now. cnn's mary snow is in newtown, connecticut right now. she is asking people there what they think about all of this. what do they think, mary? >> reporter: emotional reaction, wolf. there are people here who have taken on an active role in trying to get an assault weapons ban passed. after 20 children and six adults were killed, some are in disbelief that there is not

enough support in the senate to pass it and they take it personally. with the pain raw just three months after the sandy hook elementary school massacre, there are still messages of support coming from around the world. but it's the message from washington that right now pains alexandra thompson. she supports a ban on assault weapons and even had a sign for a petition to ban them in her store's window. she takes it personally that the senate has shelved a plan for a ban you don't need that kind of gun to protect yourself. when you put that sign in your window do a lot of people come in and express support? >> every day they came in, wanted to know where they could sign for this petition. so -- and i don't know. shame on congress. that's all i have to say. >> reporter: parents of victims have gone to washington to personally appeal to lawmakers. i'm jessie lewis's

jessie was brutally murdered at sandy hook school on december 14th. 20 minutes after i dropped him off. >> he testified before a senate committee in february, calling for a ban on assault weapons. >> those weapons were used on the battle field of vietnam. they were used in the persian gulf. they were used in afghanistan and iraq. assault purpose is to put a lot of lead on the battle field quickly. that's what they could do. >> also there that day reverend matt crebit of newtown's church. he and other community members have been trying to turn up the pressure on lawmakers to ban assault weapons. >> i guess i would say i'm disappointed. i'm not surprised. >> reporter: why? >> well, i think i was down in washington, d.c., i'm not

surprised by the reluctance of politicians still. even given what's happened here in newtown. >> reporter: but reverend crebbin says he will not give up the fight. >> the event that took place here on december 14th i do think altered america and altered the conversation. i think what happens, though, in the short term is that people tend to think that, oh, this connecticut effect, the newtown effect will go away. it is clear to us that it's not going to go away. >> reverend crebbin says even if an assault weapons ban is just part of an amendment to a broader gun bill, he'll be thankful. he says he wants a vote and he says he plans to hold lawmakers accountable for what he sees as a moral issue. wolf? >> deep disappointment in newtown. thanks very much, mary, for that. a brand new poll shows strong public support for banning the

sale of assault style weapons. why isn't that message getting through to capitol hill? our chief congressional correspondent dana bash has been asking that question to lawmakers. what are they saying? >> you know, wolf, the votes aren't there is the bottom line, what harry reid said. we know it's true because we've been reporting on this show really since the gun debate reignited after newtown that it's not just because republicans oppose it. it's also because of democrats, particularly in the senate. in fact, if you look at, we have a set of compiled -- some faces and names of democratic senators. if you look there's about a dozen. these are senators who have either outright said, no way to assault weapons ban, or those who run from us in the hallway when we try to ask or somewhere in between. the reason is most of them come from states where they're the whole concept of gun rights runs very wide and very deep. it would be cultural heresy many of them think to ban any kind of gun and to vote for that. the senators here may support

other gun control like background checks or limiting high capacity ammunition clips, even trafficking, and so the thinking and it really has been all along, is that if they put the assault weapons ban in this broad gun control package, then the whole thing will go down whereas if they take it out, and put it as an amendment which is the plan right now, we do expect a vote, then it is likely other gun control measures could potentially pass. >> they'd rather get what they can get as opposed to losing everything. >> bingo. >> that is the theory. don't go too far. we have an amazing story. we're going to get a different perspective on the gun debate in our next hour. the speaker john boehner, his exclusive interview with our own jake tapper is coming up a little bit later. but dana will be back in a moment. she was running, literally running with michelle bachmann the congresswoman bobbing and weaving pulling fast moves to duck some tough questions from dana. dana's pursuit of the

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congresswoman michele bachmann pulled fast moves to duck tough questions from cnn. our chief congressional correspondent dana bash tried to ask bachmann about her allegations of lavish spending by the obama family. those allegations came in a speech that began with some sharp criticism of the president's handling of the benghazi consulate attack. >> the president, you see, was informed of the attack within the very first hour of the attack. and after that call, the president then conversed with his advisers for approximately 30 minutes, we learned, in

testimony in the senate hearing. and then inexplicably the president disappeared. now we find out there are five chefs on airforce one. there are two projectionists who operate the white house movie theater. they regularly sleep at the white house in order to be readily available in case the first family wants a really, really late show. we are also the ones who are paying for someone to walk the president's dog. >> when dana tried to follow up with some questions, bachmann wanted to talk to walk i should say rather than talk. watch this. >> reporter: congresswoman i just want to ask you about your speech at cpac. you made some accusations against the president that are either questionable or untrue. can you talk to me about that? i want to ask you some specifics. no? >> what, the comments that i made about the president are the

fact that during the benghazi debacle the president went missing. >> reporter: what i want to ask you about is the fact that you said he had, you talked about the excesses he's engaged in the fact that he has a dog walker, which is not true. >> the big point of my speech was about benghazi. this was an absolute disaster. >> reporter: you also made specific accusations about the president spending money other presidents also -- >> the real issue is four americans that are dead. the secretary of state was not in conversation with the secretary of defense or with the chair of the joint chiefs of staff. >> reporter: i think that is an important point but this is another. >> the president of the united states didn't care about those four americans and they were killed. that is the point. >> reporter: if you're going to focus -- >> that's what's important. you talk about dog handlers and there are four americans killed?

>> reporter: congresswoman you are the one who brought it up. >> walking and walking and walking. dana is here in the situation room. dana, you were both in heels, too. that's not that easy to be walking that quickly. what was it like when you were trying to ask simple, straight forward questions and she didn't really want to answer them. >> no she didn't. what really surprised me was she wouldn't let me sort of get the question in because, look. michele bachmann has certainly not answered my questions and others in the past but she generally is -- stops and is polite and smiles, a different kind of an experience there to say the least. i also didn't get why she was sort of trying to turn her back on me when she was the one who made the comments about the president's dog walker that were questionable at best. i think it's important for our viewers to know the context of this, which is that anderson cooper and his team have a regular segment. everybody knows keeping them honest where we hold lawmakers and the elected officials

accountable. republicans and democrats. michele bachmann is maybe a special case for them because a couple years ago she said things that are, you know, questionable before, but particularly on their show she said that the president spends $200 million a day for example to go to india which turned out not to be true. she said that to anderson. when it came to this, anderson's people saw it. they asked me to request an interview. i did and was told no so i went to the regular house republican meeting where we asked all kinds of lawmakers all kinds of questions and i found her and tried to ask her. >> any followup today, any reaction from her or her staff? >> no. and i tried to get, you know, context so i could be accurate and get more information from her people and they just said the congresswoman's statements speak for themselves. thanks. >> she always does good work. just ahead --. >> earth to chairman ryan. come in, chairman ryan. come back to earth. >> the house budget committee chairman paul ryan is going to talk about his plans to balance the nation's budget with some

major spending cuts, reacting. he is standing by live. use neosporin to help you heal. it kills germs so you heal four days faster neosporin. also try neosporin eczema essentials. thto fight chronic. osteoarthritis pain. to fight chronic low back pain. to take action. to take the next step. today, you will know you did something for your pain.

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take the next step. talk to your doctor. cymbalta can help. ♪ it was the best day ♪ ♪ it was the best day yeah! ♪ it was the best day ♪ because of you [sigh] [echoing] we make a great pair. huh? progressive and the great outdoors -- we make a great pair. right, totally, uh... that's what i was thinking. covering the things that make the outdoors great. now, that's progressive. call or click today. up on capitol hill this afternoon the senate passed a bill to try to avoid a government shutdown next week. a bigger fight is under way. the house just rejected a series of alternatives to congressman paul ryan's controversial blueprint to balance the budget. ryan's plan, which is due for a vote tomorrow is heavy on

spending cuts and repeals obama care, ideas that have democrats calling for the house budget committee chairman to, quote, come back to earth. congressman ryan is joining us now live from capitol hill. thanks very much for coming in. >> you bet. believe it or not capitol hill is on earth actually. i know some people don't believe that. >> some people don't but i know you do. i'll play the clip. >> to many of us, this new ryan republican budget looks a lot like the old romney/ryan republican budget, that americans less than six months ago rejected at the polls. >> earth to chairman ryan. come in, chairman ryan. come back to earth, because people want to get to work. people want to make sure that the earned benefits that they pay for are there for them when they finally need them and i think what we have is a budget on the democratic side that

reflects the reality of people on earth. >> all right. congressman, you want to respond to the democrat? >> we want to compete for the earthling vote as well. i don't really know what to say about javier there. i like javier quite a bit. we disagree on some of these things. we're the ones that have the bipartisan idea to save and strengthen medicare not only for the current generation but the next generation. we're the ones with the courage to say our entitlements need repairing if we're going to avoid a debt crisis and make sure they don't go bankrupt. we are the ones proposing fundamental tax reform which a lot of centrist democrats agree with us on this, wolf. plug the loopholes. lower the tax rates for businesses and families for economic growth. our budget was reviewed by two prominent stanford economists. it projected it would increase jobs by 500,000 next year and 1.7 million jobs a year by the end of the budget window. faster economic growth. the reason we're balancing the budget is not just to make our spread sheet look good, expenditures equal revenues, but to get our payment on our debt down. it's to have a healthy economy.

it's to create faster economic growth, to get jobs. you have to reform government to do that. >> well, on the medicare issue which is maybe the most sensitive issue out there, are you saying there are democrats who support your plan, which democrats describe as creating a voucher for medicare recipients? >> it's not a voucher program. it's called premium support and is an idea that originated from the brooking institutions from democrats to begin with. it is an idea i used to work on with alex ridlin. it's exactly just like the idea i worked with ron wyden the senator from oregon last year on. the point is good people from both political parties can lick this problem in the future and come to a solution and that is what we're proposing. our solution by the way, wolf, doesn't affect benefits of anybody in or near retirement but puts reforms of the program so we can make it solvent for the next generation like mine and our kids.

we think it is the best idea for saving and strengthening medicare. we think the medicare board that will be put in place because of obama care is going to lead to cuts to medicare that will deny access to medicare beneficiaries so, yeah. we have a problem with obama care because we think it is very dangerous for medicare. we think we have a better idea. >> let's look ahead. i assume your budget will pass the house tomorrow. you know it isn't going to pass the senate. what happens next? >> the senate budget was brought on the floor today here as well and didn't pass the house. >> what is going to happen? >> therein lies the issue. where i'm cautiously optimistic is at least the senate is doing a budget. in the past four years, the senate hadn't done a budget. that means the process stopped. what we call regular order, where the house and the senate pass a budget. then you try to reconcile the differences. >> can you reconcile it? >> we'll find out. at least they're doing a budget. i am cautiously optimistic because the process is continuing. we have a big difference. we balance the budget. they never did. we don't want to keep raising taxes. we just have a $1.6 trillion tax increase that is already beginning this year.

we don't want to do more of that because we think it is going to hurt the economy. spending is the problem. under our budget spending grows 3.4% on average every single year and just restraining the growth of spending like that gets us to a balanced budget. so hopefully somewhere between our budget, the spending cuts we have, the reforms we have, we can find some common ground. we need to keep talking to each other and hopefully at the end of the day now that we have a budget process that is moving we can find common ground and get an agreement o get a downpayment on the problem. >> in early april the president eventually is going to release his own budget so there will be a house budget, senate budget, the president's budget. do you believe based on the luncheon that you had with the president that he is ready to make compromises that you're ready to make compromises by the end of july, early august there will be what we call a grand bargain? >> i think it would be helpful to the process if he made them publicly. if he actually said on paper here is what i'm willing to do because that's what we've been doing for years. >> is he going to do that in early april? >> i don't think so.

he'll produce a budget. it's two months late. what he has been leading us to believe is he is not going to do anything new. >> do you think he is sincere? >> i don't know the answer to that question. >> you had lunch with him. what was your impression? >> i enjoyed our lunch. i thought we had a very frank and candid conversation. i got the impression he wants to get something done. that he believes the window of getting things done is finite. the question on sincerity is really one that time will tell, which is will he reengage the campaign in just a few short months? will he focus on the campaign against republicans for 2014, or will he work to bridge the partisan divide? the question is, will he go back to impuning our motives, making it impossible for compromise to occur, or will he produce an environment where people of different parties can talk to each other so that we talk more and then end up finding common ground and getting an agreement at the end of the day. time will tell i'm hopeful but trust would verify. >> if there is no deal by the end of july early august will you vote to raise the nation's

debt ceiling? that's when it has to be raised. >> i'm not going to get into what we will or will not do. i do believe that we can make sure the default is not going to happen. i'm not really worried about us defeating. i think we can give the authority to the president to prevent default. i have to tell you, wolf. we can't keep running up deficits like this. it will damage our economy deeply and people are saying that we don't have a crisis on the horizon. of course we do. we've got a debt that is on a tear right now. if the debt takes off like it's projected to do, it's not only hurting our economy today but destroying it for the next generation. we just can't sit around and be complicit with that. that means we have to do something about it. >> let me get your thoughts on a couple sensitive issues coming before congress. immigration reform. do you support a pathway to citizenship for the 11 or 12 million illegal immigrants in the united states? >> well, i think we can get the comprehensive immigration reform. i support reform. i supported the bush reforms in 2005 and 2006.

i think we can find a way of making sure that people here with an undocumented status have an ability to adjust that status. we're not going to be able to deport 12 million people. and there is a way to do this without rewarding them for breaking the line or breaking the law. without rewarding them for cutting in front of the line so they don't have a special and unique pathway so that those who came here legally who paid the fines and waited patiently are not penalized by letting people cut in front of them. i think there is a way to do this and i would call it earned legalization status. i think there is a way to do that. i think the rubio reforms -- >> is it just legalization status or eventually under certain conditions citizenship? >> well, sure. i'm just saying no special pathway for rewarding lawmakers. i think there is a way of regularizing this process so people can get in the back of the line and become a citizen just like anybody else does in society. we just don't want to reward them by giving them an advancement in the line in front of all the people who have been waiting patiently and playing by the rules. >> do you support any new

restrictions on guns? >> well, i think the loophole issue is one that is going to be debated here in the house, which is are we getting at the fact that people who are not legally allowed to buy firearms, are they buying firearms? are there loopholes in that we need to address? i am more than willing to look at that. we have to take a look at this instant check system. you need more personnel to make it work. but i'm not interested in infringing our second amendment rights on some of the other proposals i've heard. >> i lied. one final question. senator rand paul, yesterday, was here in the situation room. 24 hours ago. he said flatly he is going to iowa in the next few weeks. he is seriously thinking of running for the republican presidential nomination in 2016. he thinks that is a good idea for him. what about you? >> i'm going to make my mind up later. the reason why i think i need to do this job and the chairman of the budget committee when we have a budget crisis on our horizon we have to get these agreements done. i don't think it's good for me, it's good for the wisconsin first district, good for my colleagues to cloud my judgment

at this time with other things. i need to do what i think is right in this moment working on the budget. i have a leadership position. i take it seriously. i don't want to cloud it with ideas of what i may or may not do in the future. i want to do the right thing now. then i'll consider those things and will give it serious consideration but i'll do that later on. >> you enjoyed campaigning with mitt romney, right? >> i did. maybe you'll do it again. >> we'll see. >> all right. hey, congressman, thanks very much. >> thanks, wolf. just ahead, while president obama is in israel talking about the peace process, our own john king goes to the west bank. he is trying to seek out what's really going on. ♪ [ female announcer ] band-aid brand has quiltvent technology with air channels to let boo boos breathe. [ giggles ] [ female announcer ] quiltvent technology, only from band-aid brand. use with neosporin first aid antibiotic.

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so far president obama's

visit to america's key ally israel is focused on the threats posed by serious chemical weapons, iran's nuclear ambitions. and where it stands. what are you seeing over there, john? >> wolf, after the news conference president obama and prime minister netanyahu both saying they'd like to bring back the peace process and the prime minister saying he wished the palestinians would come back to the bargaining table without any preconditions. one of the preconditions is the continued construction of israeli settlements in the west bank. it's also been a huge source of contention and friction between president obama, prime minister netanyahu. mr. obama never used the word settlement today but, wolf, it is still a big obstacle. new construction in the israeli settlement clearing ground for new homes and complicating any hopes for peace.

just across the way a bigger test. the push to build hundreds more on the west bank parcel israel calls e-1. the land is prepared. the water lines are in place. the police station, too. the final step, a government green light, would make the mayor happy and infuriate the white house. >> i expect my prime minister to take care of our young couples that have been born here. now there are young couples who want to live by their families. >> reporter: the mayor invited the president to visit but was ignored. >> because he hears all the time the disinformation, store friesm the palestinians. this place doesn't disconnect the palestinian state. it's not a buffer at all. >> he says the israelis are not to be believed or trusted. this prayer protest is to draw attention to construction of an israeli highway that connects

jewish settlements to jerusalem but splits the palestinian neighborhood. it splits some family members from relatives across the way as well as the neighborhood schools, clinic, and mosque. >> this would change our life. they will cut the village. >> they will cut and destroy families, also. they take our land. they take our land. >> land is the currency of the israeli/palestinian conflict that prime minister benjamin netanyahu is redrawing the map. settlement expansion in 2012 was almost five times the rate of 2010. netanyahu's first full year in office. critics call it proof the prime minister wants to make it impossible to map out a contiguous palestinian state. president obama won't go that far but says any construction is an obstacle to peace talks. eve harrow says it is the president who is blocking progress. >> he has made the palestinian

authority more intransigent. they can't say we'll talk to the israelis while they're building settlements if the american president has said it's a problem. >>he left los angeles to join the movement 25 years ago. like many here israelis and palestinians she worries tensions are rising. >> we feel it here on the roads here, definitely. that there is an upswing in the violence. but i don't think that the settlements are the reason for the tension. >> the palestinians and the visiting american president disagree but this new school is proof the israeli government at least for now isn't listening. no mention again from the president of the settlement issue in public, wolf. we are sure it came up privately in the conversations between mr. obama and mr. netanyahu. the question is how will the palestinians react. we'll find out when the president heads to ramallah tomorrow. >> we'll of course have live coverage of that here on cnn throughout the day. john isn jerusalem for us. up next, is congress really working together on immigration reform? is there a deal that is now in

the works? also coming up a driver thought he'd killed a deer and put the carcass in his trunk. when the police took a look, they all got a huge surprise.

they could be moving toward bipartisan agreement. a problem in need of a broad american solution. our chief political analyst gloria borger is here. she's been talking to a lot of folks about this. is there a deal? >> well, there's clearly a lot of momentum on the republican side for this, wolf. but as you know, in congress, nothing is ever done until it's done. i want to do a little reality check here, take you down memory lane a little bit to those republican primaries. listen to how republicans were

sounding about immigration reform not so long ago. >> people who have come here illegally won't be able to find work and over time those people would tend to leave the country. >> people who have come to the country illegally, have broken the law repeatedly. as a result of that, i think people should not be able to stay here. >> if you've been in the state of texas for three years, if you're working towards your college degree, and if you are working and pursuing citizenship in the state of texas, you pay instate tuition there. the bottom line is, it doesn't matter what the sound of your last name is. that is the american way. no matter how you got into that state from the standpoint of your parents brought you there or what have you, that's what we've done in the state of texas. >> so, wolf, you heard those boos. he got booed for showing some sympathy towards the kids of illegal immigrants who want to go to college in the state of texas. so the question is, where is the base of the republican party on

this? if you look at the polls, the majority of republicans still remain opposed to immigration reform. you may have the elite politicians in one place and the base in another. >> how do you get the base onboard? >> i think we heard this a lot in your interview just now, with paul ryan. first of all, you have to emphasize border security. i talked to lots of republicans on the hill. they all say to me, remember what happened in 1986, ronald reagan had immigration reform, they call it amnesty and we had people pouring across the porous border. that cannot happen again. then republicans have to try to figure out a way to spread that needle. are they offering citizenship, even though it's a long pass, or are they just going to offer some kind of legal status in this country? rand paul spoke the other day. he did not use the worth citizenship, though he clearly support immigration reform.

that's going to be a challenge for republicans to figure out where they're going to be on the question of citizenship. >> just don't call it amnesty. because the base hates that word. >> oh, they do. they now say reagan provided that. >> he did. >> yes. >> thanks very much, gloria. when we come back, it's taken more than 35 years, but a pioneering spacecraft has now gone beyond the solar system. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life.

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happening now, outreach to

israel. president obama teams up with prime minister netanyahu against syria and iran. the hunt for a killer in colorado. we are learning about a possible lead in the shooting death of the state's prison chief. and what if dinosaurs came back to life? scientists work to revive extinct animals. this isn't science fiction, it's real. i'm brianna keilar. >> and i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com the obama is standing with israel in a dangerous time in the region. >> his most urgent warning in syria, vowing that the assad regime will be held accountable if it has in fact used chemical

weapons as the rebels claim. >> plet's go to jerusalem first with jessica. a very powerful meeting today. very interesting between the president and the prime minister. >> wolf, that's right. president obama here in jerusalem for the first overseas trip of his second term. a visit which in symbolism already president obama is emphasizing the u.s.'s commitment to ensuring israel's security and correcting any past sleights, real or perceived. president obama and prime minister netanyahu together in israel. they were acting like long-lost friends, joking, getting casual, complimenting each other's children while taking a little dig. >> they are very good looking young men who clearly got their looks from their mother. >> well, i could say the same of

your daughters. >> this is true. >> we get it, the frosty days are over. now they're ready to link arms on a variety of issues. but there are still differences in their posture. >> on syria, an israeli official tells cnn, the israeli government believes chemical weapons were used in syria. >> i've instructed my teams to work closely with all of the countries in the region, and international organizations, and institutions. to find out precisely whether or not this red line was crossed. >> he repeated if he finds chemical weapons were used or transferred, that would be a game changer. on iran, a seemingly humbled prime minister netanyahu declared president obama is committed to stopping a nuclear iran, but then he pointed out -- >> we have different vulnerabilities, obviously, and

different capabilities. we take that into account. >> reporter: president obama offered these words of reassurance to the israelis. >> i will repeat, all options are on the table. we will do what is necessary to prevent iran from getting the world's worst weapons. >> reporter: then made clear the u.s. time frame for action may differ from israel's. >> each country has to make its own decisions when it comes to the often decision to engage in any kind of military action. and israel is differently situated than the united states. >> reporter: at least the two now chummy leaders found a way to bond over all this talk of timing and red lines. >> where do you want to start? >> we're following the red line. >> following the red line, okay. >> you follow the green line all the time, right? follow the red line. >> this is a psychological ploy. >> this was minutely planned. >> also carefully planned, tomorrow the president will

visit the west bank city of ramallah. while the white house is setting expectations exceedingly low, there is some hope the u.s. and israel could start down a path with peace talks with israel and the arab states. the president said this is the first step, listening is the first step, and that's what the president plans to do when he visits the head of the palestinian authority tomorrow. even made a joke saying, his mother caught him, you never start a process without listening to the parties involved first. that's what he plans to do when he visits the west bank. >> thanks, jessica. while there's no -- been no confirmation of a chemical weapons attack in syria, the chairs of the house and senate intelligence committees say they believe it's a strong possibility. they broke that news right here in "the situation room" when wolf and i interviewed congressman mike rogers and senator dieann feinstein yesterday. >> do you believe chemical weapons were used by the syrian

military? >> i have a high probability to believe that chemical weapons were used. we need the final verification. >> the white house has to make some decisions in this. i think the days are becoming more desperate. the regime is more desperate. i think the probabilities are very high that we're going into some very dark times. >> our pentagon correspondent barbara starr is learning more about the investigation to figure out if chemical weapons were fired in syria. >> reporter: as more pictures emerge of hospitalized syrians, cnn has learned u.s. intelligence agencies are in a massive around-the-clock effort to determine if these people were attacked by chemical weapons. so far, u.s. officials say there is no corroboration. >> so far, we have no evidence to substantiate the reports of

chemical weapons used. >> reporter: in a classified briefing to congress, intelligence officials said it's not clear what happened. but cnn has learned new details about how the cia is trying to figure out exactly what did happen here. u.s. intelligence operatives are now talking to rebels and defectors to see what they know. in maryland, these are being interviewed. they tell cnn military analysts are looking at the symptoms and conditions, along with reports from syrian doctors, to see if the symptoms of suffocation, and convulsions match a potential chemical attack. intelligence analysts are also looking at satellite imagery to identify movement of chemical weapons or launches of missiles that could have carried chemical warheads. they're looking at intercepts of

cell phones and internet traffic for chatter about attacks. if an attack is proven, and if president obama were to order military action, cnn has learned turkish and u.s. aircraft in southern europe are close enough to launch air strikes. the u.s. navy is also maintaining a classified submarine presence in the mediterranean, along with surface warships that could fire missiles to destroy chemical fights. >> we are looking at a wide range of operations, and we are prepared, if called upon, to be engaged. >> now, intelligence officials say, because there are no u.s. operatives or u.s. military personnel on the ground inside syria, it may be very difficult to prove what did happen there. they may never really know. brianna? >> barbara starr at the pentagon. the obama noted israel's security can be measured in near

miles and minutes. >> no doubt it's a very small region facing really big stress. this is a tough neighborhood. cnn's tom foreman is taking a closer look into this neighborho neighborhood. what are you seeing here, tom? >> wolf, you have to look at the map to understand the import and the close quarters. if you took his whole itinerary, that would fit inside the area of the state of ohio. and yet he's got massive issues to deal with there. chief among them, the palestinian/israeli issue. he cannot seem to be deaf to complaints of the palestinians about israel, particularly about things like the israeli settlers building homes in places like the west bank, which the palestinians firmly believe will be their property if there is ever completely a peace deal. >> tom, beyond israel, other issues are pressing pretty much on this visit by the president. because these are issues that are really close by as well.

what can you tell us about them? >> yeah, it expands the theme of this. a very small area with a lot of things happening. let's drive north up into syria. we know that for quite some time now, we've had the struggle going on between rebel forces in syria, and the government where they're fighting for control of the government. in the past 48 hours we have reports of the government maybe using chemical weapons against the rebel forces. that has really substantially stepped up the pressure on the white house to do something. maybe to arm the rebels, maybe to put in warplanes to start bombing some of the government positions. that's all a very difficult thing to do while not igniting the rest of the region, wolf, where they won't be too happy to see american warplanes in the skies. >> and there's iran. that's not all that far away either, with a whole set of other issues. >> absolutely. get over iraq and you get to iran, we know the president said days ago he thinks iran is one year away from having a nuclear weapon. the israelis think it could happen even sooner. iran says they don't even have

such a program. but they've been anti-israel, anti-american, and we know that they have rockets capable of flying from tehran down to tel aviv in about 12 minutes, and they could carry a small nuke if you made it small enough. this is the distance from boston to chicago. that's how small the areas we're talking about, and yet as you can see, so many, many, many difficult and massive problems in that area. >> the region, i must say, north africa, middle east, south asia, pretty much in turmoil right now. thanks very much for that, tom foreman. a good explanation. let's go back to jerusalem right now. let's talk about syria for a moment. does israel believe the syrian regime of bashar al assad has already used chemical weapons? >> we're at the moment comparing

and talking with the americans about what we see on the data on the ground. i can say the following, wolf, which is clear that there is a danger there. it's clear there's a danger there. the regime has huge stockpiles of chemical weapons. it's not only that the regime that could use those weapons, as syria fragments, and you've got very dangerous hard-core terrorist groups there on the ground in syria, whether it's the islamic revolutionary guard, the iranian revolutionary guard, i'm sorry, you've got hezbollah on the ground. you will see those very dangerous weapons reach very dangerous axis. >> you can't say for sure whether or not they crossed that red line and used those weapons? >> at the moment we're not commenting publicly on that issue. we're being cautious at this stage. >> but do you know, you don't have to tell us what the answer is, but does israel know, does

israel intelligence have a firm answer? >> we have an initial assessment. i can say that it came up tonight in the discussions with president obama, as did, of course, the peace process in the middle east, and the need to stop iran from getting a nuclear weapon. i mean, those three issues, iran, peace process and syria were front and center on our agenda today. >> prime minister netanyahu and president obama on the syrian issue, are they on the same page? >> i think so. because we have a clear situation where you have a terrible humanitarian crisis, more than 70,000 people killed, many, many more injured, and many people refugees, having to leave their homes. and everyone sees the great humanitarian crisis. but syria has the potential to be a major strategic crisis as well. and that is, you have in syria a formidable arsenal of weapons, nonconventional weapons as well.

those chemical weapons. and if we see those weapons either used irresponsibly by the regime in any use, or if we see those weapons reaching the hands of other extremist actors who are on the ground in syria, and as you know, both hezbollah, al qaeda, as well as the iranian revolutionary guard, they're on the ground and active in syria, and as that so sigh it fragments, we're very concerned those groups will get their hands on those weapons in the syrian arsenal. >> what would israel do? >> of course, we would reserve of the right to act, to prevent that from happening. i might ask you a question, imagine al qaeda, imagine hezbollah with chemical weapons. what does that mean to all the people who have potential targets for those extremist terrorist groups? we can't allow it to happen. >> i want you to clarify, if you can, there seems to be a nuance difference between the prime minister and the president of the united states when it comes to a red line for iran.

prime minister netanyahu speaks of early summer, a red line. the president thinks it's going to be at least a year before iran has some sort of nuclear weapons capability. explain what's going on here. >> i don't think the differences are that large at all, wolf. if you say to us, and the prime minister addressed it publicly this evening, that the iranians could have a flu clear weapon in about a year, i'm not sure we disagree with that assessment. we look at another issue, the issue of nuclear enrichment. when they have enough enriched uranium for a bomb, that means that it's impossible to stop them from our perspective. so we're looking at other factors as well. and unfortunately the clock is ticking and time is running out. in other words, the key is, for us, the enrichment of uranium by the iranians. as that enrichment continues, it's more and more dangerous.

>> mark is the spokesman for the mark, thanks very much for joining us. >> my pleasure. in our last hour, we reported one of president obama's limousines in israel broke down today due to fuel issues. an israeli government official told cnn and other news organizations that the vehicle broke down because it was filled with the wrong type of fuel. the u.s. secret service told cnn earlier there were mechanical problems with the limousine but now tell us that fuel was not the issue. they have not yet told us what the actual issue was. they're still working on that. we went back to the israeli official who stands by the story that the limousine was filled with the wrong kind of fuel. we'll continue to dig on this story and let you know what we learned. more reason to worry about the threat from north korea. is the communist nation hundred dollars the massive cyber attack? and the exclusive interview with house speaker john boehner, who talks about gun violence as a

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a huge cyber attack cripples the computer systems of several banks and broadcasters. it happened today in south korea, where officials say the most likely suspect is their enemy to the north. just one more source of serious tension right now, at a time when north korea seems to be making new threats almost every day. let's bring in our pentagon correspondent, chris lawrence. he's investigating. what are you finding out, chris? >> the south korean army wasn't even affected by this hacking. yet they still raised their defense level. that gives you some idea of just how high tensions are running right now. accusations are flying, after a cyber attack shut down several banks and tv broadcasters in south korea. >> very disruptive impact. >> reporter: computers crashed, and up popped warnings from a new hacker group, promising to

be back soon. some south koreans are blaming the north. which just last week accused the u.s. and south korea of launching persistent computer virus attacks and promised revenge. >> if this comes from north korea, it was government sponsored. >> reporter: cyber analyst james lewis said pyongyang hasn't been nearly as active at cyber attacks as russia, china and iran. >> while it could indicate with the korean if it was them, was, yeah, they're moving up the chain. they're figure out how to do things. >> reporter: u.s. military commanders say this advice could be just as destructive as bullets and bombs. >> our homeland is not the sanctuary it once was. >> reporter: the pentagon is trying to coordinate its defenses with private companies. >> think of this as going up to new york city on the new jersey

turnpike. the ezpass would see a car going by, we're telling the internet service provide if you see a red car, tell us that you saw the red car, where you saw it, and where it's going. >> reporter: this time south korean banks were disrupted. it could have easily been here. >> what if somebody woke up one day and said, i want to do this. right now there's nothing standing between them and you. >> reporter: and that's one of the reasons the pentagon is trying to deploy new cyber warrior teams over the next three years. that includes about 13 so-called defend-the-nation teams, and they would ostensibly go on offense, against all kinds of hackers, not just sit back and protect military systems. brianna? >> chris lawrence, thank you for that. another head of the international monetary fund is facing legal trouble. police searched the paris home of imf chief christine lag guard today. she's under investigation for her role of a settling a

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the u.s. offers $5 million bounties for each of two american terrorists in somalia. brianna's got that and the other

top stories. >> wolf, it was our very own cnn affairs reporter who is the first to report that the men are omar shafeek and jihad mustafa, already on the most wanted terrorist list. the state department said they're members of the al qaeda group in so mal yo. an animal like a rat may have caused the latest power outage at japan's fukushima power plant, according to the owner. there were new radiation concerns when critical cooling systems shut down at the site of the nuclear disaster that followed the 2011 tsunami. all system are up again. check this out. these are engine parts from the saturn 5 rocket that carried neil armstrong and the apollo xi mission to the moon.

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[ male announcer ] get adt installed for just $99. and ask about adt pulse. advanced home management here today. adt. always there. happening now, deadly gun violence in colorado. officials very close to home. could a bystander crack the case. john boehner talks exclusively to our jake tapper about the emotional aftermath of the newtown connecticut shooting. anderson cooper is at it again. i made it into his ridiculist. now it's time for me to respond. wolf blitzer, along with brianna keilar. you're in "the situation room." right now, a manhunt is under way in colorado, after a shocking murder. the victim is the head of the state's prison system. and is gunned down in his own home. >> we've just gotten word of a

possible new lead. investigators are looking for a speed walker, a woman who was in the area may have seen a car connected to the killing. cnn jim spellman is in mon you umt, colorado, for us. what's the latest you're hearing there? >> reporter: brianna, this brutal murder shocked so many people from here in the neighborhood to the governor's mansion. police scouring for potential leads in the shooting death of tom clements as he answered the door at his home. >> we're sensitive to the fact that because of the position he held, there could be any number of people who may or may not have a motive to perpetrate a crime like this against him. >> reporter: so far, there are few leads. only a car seen idling nearby at the time of the shooting. >> that vehicle is described as a late '90s model boxy style two-door. something similar perhaps to a '90s model lincoln, although we're not definitively saying it's a lincoln. minutes later they saw it driving on this road toward

interstate 25. near the on-ramp to the interstate, there are numerous cameras. police are checking them to see if they can spot the car. as police pursue the killer, colorado's governor signed controversial gun control legislation that requires universal background checks and bans high-capacity magazines. >> as far as we know, two unrelated situations. tom worked in what is sometimes called a cold, dark world with a remarkably open and generous heart. he would have expected us to sign these bills and go forward today. that's just the kind of man he was. >> reporter: the governor was less composed earlier in the day when he remembered the man who he had to cajole to take the job. >> our thoughts, prayers are with his wife, lisa, their two daughters. certainly with all the employees of the department of corrections are, who tom worked so hard with. >> reporter: even though investigators are looking at

leads related to the prison system, they've ruled nothing out in this investigation, brianna. >> jim spellman for us there in mon you meant, colorado. we're going to try to get a little more information. now, obviously there are unknown questions here when it comes to motive, and exactly what happened, really trying to determine the facts here. let's go now to lieutenant jeff kramer of the el paso county sheriff's office. what's the latest in the investigation? have you been able to identify a suspect yet, lieutenant? >> we have not been able to identify a suspect yet. obviously our investigators remain very busy at this hour. sifting through a lot of information, going over information they received through their analysis of the crime scene. that analysis began last night and continued through much of today. again, no suspect has been identified. but again, we're working feverishly to obtain answers to that very question. >> so i understand perhaps then you don't necessarily know if there's a motive. but anyone looking at this story would sort of jump to that

conclusion that very likely this may be someone who had an issue with tom clements. have you been able to determine that? i imagine you're looking at that in earnest? >> we are certainly looking at all those possible angles that you mentioned. of course, we're being open-minded to any number of other possibilities as well. we're very sensitive, as we have been, since the onset of this investigation, very sensitive to the position that he held, the fact that any number of people could have a motive to commit a crime such as this against mr. clements. and taking in all of that information. taking all of that into consideration in the course of this investigation. >> did mr. clements ever have security, or there any precautions he took? you can imagine he might be the target of a crime. >> i'm not aware of what level of security he may or may not have. have had. that's probably something that perhaps we'll get more clarity

from the department of corrections on here, locally here. i'm not aware of what level of security may have been in place. >> lieutenant, you may have heard in the story that we just ran by jim spellman, there was this boxy car that he was talking about. how important do you think it is to find this car, and have you been able to make any progress there? >> well, it's extremely important for us to find that vehicle. that's why we really sought assistance from the public in this case, to be able to call in additional information that might be helpful for us in identifying that car more specifically. and of course, identifying hopefully the occupant and driver of that car last evening. that is a very viable and important lead for us at this time. once we did release the initial information, we did have an additional number of local residents, perhaps three or four in this area, who called in to corroborate that they had sighted that car as well. that seems to be a viable piece of information for us. we hope to gain additional

ground on that in the hours to come. >> are you getting a lot of leads in general? >> well, in general, we certainly have a lot of information that has been made available to us. we have a great level of cooperation that's going on with a number of agencies who are assisting in this. many of those agencies are really operating in the realm of providing us valuable information that might shed some light on who may have perpetrated this crime. so we do have a lot of information to go through, and we're certainly keeping those phone lines open through the nonemergency line in the dispatch center to receive any calls from the public who has information as well. >> lieutenant, we certainly do hope you make some progress on this. thank you for joining us. lieutenant jeff kramer with the el paso county sheriff's office. >> i hope they find this guy. in an exclusive interview with our own jake tapper, house speaker john boehner is opening up talking about how he felt after the sandy hook massacre. what he thinks should be done right now.

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here in washington, we've seen the momentum for tough new gun control measures since the emotional days immediately after the sandy hook school massacre. my colleague, jake tapper, spoke exclusively to the house speaker john boehner about the problem of gun violence in the united states and how it touches him personally. >> just tell me, as a speaker of the house, i just know as a dad myself, when sandy hook happened, i just wanted to do something. whether it was changing the laws to make it easier to commit people, or making sure the background checks were better. what did you feel as a dad? >> oh, i mean, it was awful.

our hearts go out to those with the victims of sandy hook, and the other mass shootings. i would hope the president would have focused on the bigger problem. violence in our society. >> do you think background checks, improving background checks might be part of that? >> they should actually do a real background check on everyone. and maybe the department of justice ought to enforce the law. >> jake, he said he wants the senate to take action first on gun control. then the house will act. why? >> well, because the senate is already having difficulty passing gun control. i don't think he wants the house to be on the record one way or the other on these issues without even that hurdle having been cleared. obviously it would be tougher to get things through a republican-controlled house than a democrat-backed senate. but just one other point of clarification that's interesting. he said in that interview that

he thought everyone should be background checked. but when i pressed for clarification, they don't mean -- he did not mean that he thinks there should be new background checks. he just means that the justice department should do the background checks that are already required that are not necessarily done. >> good point of clarification. another sensitive issue, comprehensive immigration reform. you had this exchange with the speaker. >> it's no secret, your caucus is -- can sometimes be difficult to fear. >> really? >> i'm wondering if you think that the -- if the tea party caucus in particular which has a reputation for being particularly unruly, shall we say, if they will go along with something like immigration reform. >> we've got one of the members of the tea party caucus who's been part of these discussions. raul labrador from idaho just happened to be an immigration attorney before he came to the congress.

he has some real expertise he's been able to bring to the table. he's been able to work with republicans and democrats to address this serious issue. so i'm not at all concerned about one faction or the other. >> does he think that immigration reform will pass the house anytime soon? >> he does. but he's being very, very wary right now. and one of the keys here is, would he bring up legislation that he thought could pass, but wouldn't necessarily get the majority of the republican party in the house. that's something he's been reluctant to do in the past. he did do it when it came to the tax cuts that were set to expire at the end of last year. so i think the question is, can there be a big enough group of republicans, even if not necessarily a majority that would join with democrats and pass it in the house. >> good interview. jake tapper, thanks very much. don't forget, watch jake every week day 4:00 p.m. eastern on "the lead," right here on

cnn. "the situation room" now begins at 5:00 p.m. eastern. another record-setting day on wall street. all three major stock indexes closed higher after the federal reserve promised to keep stimulus measures in effect until the job market is back on track. the dow was about 35 points higher than that earlier in the day. a new all-time high within a trading session. up next, what if extinction isn't forever? researchers are working on bringing back species that haven't been seen on earth for decades. and wolf lands on anderson's ridiculist. now it's blitzer's turn to hit back. [ male announcer] surprise -- you're having triplets.

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this is a fascinating story, wolf. it's really cool. extinction may not be the end of the line for some species. >> scientists are now trying to bring back some of them decades after they actually disappeared. lisa sylvester is working this story for us. you're fascinated by this as well. >> i've got to say, i'm with brianna on this one. i'm very fascinated by this. what we're talking about is bringing back animals that were once extinct by using genetic engineering. this is where science is taking us. some of us are questioning, are we playing god here. we all saw in jurassic park dinosaurs brought back to life. extinction as it's called isn't that far-fetched. >> essentially played the devil by causing these species to go extinct.

its. >> stewart brand is a scientist who feels passionately he's founded a nonprofit, revive and restore. this is the passenger pigeon. and this is martha. the last remaining passenger pigeon. she died in 1914, in the cincinnati zoo. but at one point there were literally billions of these birds. so many in fact, that they would travel in these large flocks that would darken the sky. commercial and recreational hunting led to the passenger pijpi pigeon's extinction. now scientists might be able to bring back martha. the extinction is national geographic magazine's april cover story. >> if you have a viable cell from an extinct animal, it got frozen somehow, you could use that to create an embryo to implant in a living animal and it will develop and become an adult animal. >> don't expect the t-rex

recollection to roam the earth again. >> you have to divide it into, you know, stone cold dead, which is what know, stone cold dead w is what dinosaurs are. they're fossils. and then things that went recently extinct that you may have specimens of what amounts to being the carcass of the animal. >> reporter: deextinction has already happened. a mountain goat was brought back. the last one died in 1990. scientists preserved cells from the animal and able to genetically engineer one that lived for ten minutes before dying. but while it may be cool to have a passenger pigeon back or a bacarto, there are a number of ethical issues. you're tinkering with mother nature. the animals' habitat may no longer exist. and what happens in the new world of genetics where people can pick and choose certain genetic qualities? who controls the technology? >> the technology is the same

whether you're creating a passenger pigeon or a virus. and what this technology really means is shortly we'll be able to synthesize completely new organisms, organism that's never existed in nature. >> and that is at the crux of this debate. there is also debate among conservationists on whether or not the resources and time would be better spent trying to save animals that are still around and endangered. all of the scientists who we spoke to say it's all just a matter of time before someone is able to bringack an extinct animal and it lives. now it's a matter of getting all the rules and figuring out what are the regulations, who controls this technology before we get to that point. >> amazing stuff, lisa. thanks. >> great to see where science is going with this. >> it's interesting and also a little scary, i think. >> it s it does raise all the ethical issues. and that's why i think it's a great area for debate. >> lisa, thank you for that. president obama's first trip to israel as commander in chief under way. cnn's erin burnett is going "out

front" on the story. >> we're going to be talking to the man of the moment as the "jerusalem post" dubbed bennett, when it all came down to it in the israeli government, he is one of the top guys. he'll be our special guest this evening and we're going to talk about a man that mayor bloomberg in new york called ridiculous. he called him ridiculous because this man has dared to defy him on large sugary drinks. that man is howard shultz, the ceo of starbucks. >> thank you. up next, wolf, it's his turn to respond to the ridiculous and a prom date like no other how one hopeful young man got this top model's attention. (dog) larry,larry,larrryyy.

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roaches on a bus, we came together on the ridiculous last night. take a look. >> leerz what happened. according to passengers who spoke to our affiliate shortly after the trip began, roaches began to show up. pretty much everywhere. >> i sat down. roaches started crawling up on our clothes, going out the ceiling, everything. >> all right. we're already at the part of the trip where i would pull the emergency brake. i would jump off the bus and call wolf blitzer to pick me up. trust me, he's used to getting sketchy phone calls from atlantic city. >> i mean, wolf, i get into trouble in atlantic city once and you tell anderson. i thought you weren't going to say anything. >> was that you? what were you doing? >> i haven't actually been. i think you're the least likely of anyone i know to be getting sketchy phone calls. >> i actually probably did get a sketchy phone call from a friend in atlantic city once and had to help out. >> i bet you would. you'd be a good guy to help out. >> i think anderson is just a little jealous. >> jealous of what?

>> you see these glass sflz. >> yes. >> whether i got them, i could tell he wanted them. >> he did? >> yeah. >> he copied. >> i was on the ridiculous list with the glasses. he puts on the -- he has similar glasses. >> yeah. he's a little jealous. >> yeah. i think a little bit. wolf. >> the first day of spring whether as a poet wrote a young man's fancy turns the thoughts of love. >> and one young man from los angeles is aiming high. he's asking a very famous model to his prom. here's cnn's jeannie moos. >> reporter: everyone wants her. will this california high school senior get her? >> it hit me. why don't i ask kate upton to prom? it was a pipe dream. everyone is like that's crazy. you're going to embarrass yourself. >> instead of embarrassing himself, he ended up on the "today" show talking to the "sports illustrated" swimsuit model on the phone. >> this just